Kairos Ensemble: Jazzmen confronting the secular/sacred divide

Recent years have seen the reputation of jazz four piece Kairos Ensemble -
hailing from London and surrounding areas - grow from strength to
strength with their most recent albums receiving glowing reviews from
the likes of BBC Radio 3, Jazz FM and a whole host of other jazz-based
radio stations, websites and journals. Plying their own brand of
inventive yet accessible instrumental jazz, the Ensemble - consisting
of sax virtuoso Dan Foster, Peter James on keyboards, tuba player
Richard Fox and Tom Hooper on drums - have continually honed their
skills over the years to become one of the UK's most gifted and
exciting jazz outfits.

Life for Kairos
Ensemble started back in the early '90s whilst Foster, James and
Hooper were studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Having
teamed up with Richard Fox, who was studying at the neighbouring City
University, the foursome soon started plying their trade in different
bands before officially forming Kairos Ensemble in 2001. Since then, the
group have found themselves playing in a wide range of settings
including corporate events, churches, clubs, prisons and schools as
well as conducting workshops and appearing either individually or
collectively with major artists such as Grace Jones, Graham Kendrick,
Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and the English National Opera.

In addition, Kairos
Ensemble have released four acclaimed albums with 2002's 'The
River' and the 2006 live offering 'Psalms' paving the way for two more
recent releases that have caught the imagination of the jazz world and
showcased the inherent talent of Foster, James and company. The 2010
James-composed Easter meditation 'Passion Suite' followed by last
year's 'Rejoicing Blues' - a selection of previously unrecorded pieces
from the band's live repertoire - have been described as "charmingly
crafted and soulful", "beautiful music" and "an inspiration" by jazz
journalists the length and breadth of the country.

I catch up with Dan Foster and Peter James in a break from their busy
schedules - Dan is also a Baptist pastor whilst Peter teaches and
directs music in a North London church as well as fronting his own
jazz trio - to find out what makes Kairos Ensemble tick. "Basically, we want
to do whatever we do for God's glory," advises Dan. "Over the years,
we've done all sorts of projects and events and we don't want to see a
sacred/secular divide in our music because it should be all for God's
glory no matter where we're playing. We've all been good friends for
years now and there is a chemistry between us. The friendship within
Kairos is foundational and there's a sense that the end product is
bigger than the sum of its parts."

Before finding out more about the group, I ask Peter why the name
Kairos was chosen. "It's a Greek word that means 'time'," he
clarifies. "There are a couple of Greek words for 'time' with
'chronos' being more linear in nature and 'kairos' being more about
specific time. The word has a resonance in the Bible in terms of
things happening under God's authority and in his time and, in terms
of jazz, it's all about capturing the moment."

With four trained musicians making up the group - all of whom are
virtuoso in their chosen instrument and in demand individually as
session players - I suggest that it must be hard at times for Kairos Ensemble to come
to any unanimous decisions. "It's a funny band because it's very much
a democracy between the four of us," Peter advises. "Deciding what
pieces go on albums and what our repertoire should be is
slightly torturous but everybody brings something to the table and the
end product is richer for it."

One such item brought to the table and previously described by the
band as its secret weapon is the tuba playing of Richard Fox. Richard
takes the place of the traditional double bass player in a jazz
foursome to offer up something just that little bit different. "The
tuba fulfils the whole bass function but also has a melodic
potential," confirms Peter. "There's also something quite regal about
the tuba and there's a lighter-hearted comedic side to it as well.
There's a whole load of potential in that instrument which I think
adds a particular characteristic to the sound of the band. Blending
Richard's tuba with Dan's sax in particular gives Kairos a special
colour."

"Also, our drummer Tom Hooper really adds something to our sound,"
chips in Dan. "He's very versatile and he can put his hand to pretty
much anything. He's technically excellent, a real virtuoso and very
easy going. He really delights in the odd time signature stuff. Some
drummers go slightly green when they're faced with things like that,
but not Tom!"

Focussing on Kairos
Ensemble's last two albums, I wonder how the idea for the
Easter-themed meditation 'Passion Suite' came about. "My approach to
writing is going with whatever is on my mind," comments Peter. "I
didn't set out to write a suite about Easter - it sort of crept up on
me. I do remember wrestling with the Easter story and thinking about
how we would engage with it as a jazz group. Doing something like
'Passion Suite' is a different challenge because you are creating a
soundscape to certain scenes in a story and you have to approach it
with a contextual understanding."

"I thinking playing the 'Passion Suite' live is very powerful," adds
Dan. "It's been a privilege to play it and be part of that story - it
really was a great way to enter into it. Playing on the likes of
'Resurrection' from the album allowed me to share in some small way in
the resurrection power of Christ and you feel really connected."

It seems that the band took a different approach to recording the 2013
followup album 'Rejoicing Blues', as Dan explains. "On the new album,
there are some new tunes but there are also pieces that we've been
playing for quite a few years but never actually got round to
recording. I guess we felt the wind in our sails after 'Passion
Suite' and it felt like the right time put these songs down."

"The new album has its own shape and it allowed us to get back as a
quartet and present the tunes in their natural habitat," suggests Dan.
"Over the years, we've been playing jazz to non-jazz audiences and
we've been trying to communicate our music in a way that means you
don't have to be a hardcore jazz buff to understand it. There is some
jazz that is pretty cerebral and leaves some people cold and we just
wanted to do something that people would enjoy listening to."

Peter is keen to point out the reason for the oxymoron contained
within the title of the new album. "Some of the songs have been drawn
from the last 10 years and we've all gone through some really high
celebratory moments in our lives and then there have been some
heartbreakingly low times. As a result, the tension between rejoicing
and the blues in our music reflects real life. It's very much a
document of our lives over the last decade or so."

With 'Rejoicing Blues' succeeding in communicating the band's faith,
feelings and passion without the use of words, I ask Dan and Peter to
explain how they view the benefits of instrumental music. "I think in
terms of our music being instrumental," Dan begins, "it gives our
music a broader appeal because you can take from it what you want."

"I think that all music has the potential to be something that engages
the heart," continues Peter. "I have a slight bugbear in terms of the
Christian music scene. What is Christian music and does it only
become 'Christian' when you put a lyric on it? Does that inherently
turn it into Godly music? Also, even if music isn't written purely
from a Christian angle or motivation, I believe it can still be
God-invented music as it can still be something that glorifies God.
There is something deep about instrumental and improvised music
because there is the potential to feel that there's something
of-the-moment going on. The presence of God could be in anything and
it's about playing in that moment - something that links back to the
word 'kairos'."

Despite a wealth of positive reviews of their recent work and
ever-increasing airplay, it's clear that Kairos Ensemble won't be sitting on their
laurels, as Dan confirms. "Pete's currently focussed on a dramatised
musical he's written based on John Bunyan's book The Pilgrim's
Progress which involves music from Kairos, a dramatic presentation
from over 60 children and lots of other things. It's a very big and
ambitious project which we're honoured to be involved in."

Peter pays tribute to his Kairos colleagues in closing to sum up the
respect and camaraderie that helps make the group a success. "The
comforting thing for me is that my friends from Kairos Ensemble are involved in this new
project and I know that, whatever I throw at Dan, Richard and Tom, the
result will always be exceptionally good."

The opinions expressed in this article are
not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed
views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may
not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a
later date.

About Lins Honeyman

Lins Honeyman is a Perthshire-based singer/songwriter and currently presents The Gospel Blues Train on Cross Rhythms Radio on Saturday nights from 11pm and on Listen Again.